


you put your arms around me (and i'm home)

by sbiderwoman



Series: Peter Parker's Misadventures In The MCU but written in one (1) chapter [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-02-09 17:43:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18642952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sbiderwoman/pseuds/sbiderwoman
Summary: WARNING: Endgame spoilers.I'm,,,,, sorry.___During his last moments, Tony Stark looks back to those who helped him cope.





	you put your arms around me (and i'm home)

The old Tony Stark would never have done what he did.

The old Tony Stark would have run far, far away. He would have let others take care of Thanos whilst he sat in the safety of his mansion, unperturbed, a drink in his hand. Although, to be fair, the old Tony Stark never had anything to fight for.

The new Tony Stark, however, had so, so much to fight for.

He had a daughter. A son who was his son in every way but blood. A beautiful wife. Friends that actually  _cared_ for him. People that looked up to him.

Sitting there, staring at the blurry rubble, the infinity stone's power slowly burning away his skin and his soul, Tony Stark let his thoughts roam freely.

___

His first thoughts went to his best friend, James ''Rhodey'' Rhodes, or, as he liked to call him, platypus. He remembered their hostility when they first met, the coldness, the rivalry creating a huge crevice in between them. He was only 15 at the time, yet he was already the top student in most of his classes at MIT. He was a mess, going to parties, getting drunk, roaming around with a different girl each night. He remembered his platypus rubbing his back as he emptied his stomach's contents into the grubby dorm bathroom. Rhodey took the scared 15 year old  _teenager_ under his wing.

He kept taking care of him. Even now, years later, he stuck by his side. Together, they went through hell and back. He was his best friend, his brother, his anchor. Without him, Tony didn't think that he could be the man he now is. Before him, nothing was permanent. Not his parents, his friendships, his relationships, his good work.

James Rhodes became permanent, and Tony Stark couldn't be happier.

___

His thoughts later traveled to the first time he met Pepper. With hair to match her fiery personality, she looked as beautiful as ever. His company had just started selling weapons, and he was looking for an assistant manager. That day, when Virginia 'Pepper' Potts walked into the building radiating a powerful air of confidence, he was immediately drawn.

He may not have known it yet, but he was already completely wrapped around her slim little finger.

She had stuck with him since that day. She never left, never abandoned him. She was  _good_ for him. She helped him, business-wise and emotion-wise. Ever since she saved him from Stane, ever since she proved herself to be more than a mere personal assistant. He knew she was the one. Sure, they had their ups and downs. They took their breaks. But at the end, they would always be pulled back to one another, like two magnets. He knew there was no escape, and frankly, he had no problem with that.

Eventually, she became Pepper Stark, and Tony Stark couldn't be happier.

___

His barely conscious mind then wandered to the first time he felt at peace. His memories brought him back to a certain house in Rose Hill, Tennessee, where lived a certain boy named Harley Keener. From the moment he crashed into the kid's garage, he knew he was something else. His snarky, sarcastic self helped Tony drown out everything else and focus on his mission. He quickly realised the twelve year old was a genius, and he couldn't help but be reminded of himself. 

That night, a twelve year old genius living in the middle of nowhere brought a bloodied, bruised and battered Tony back to life.

When he had left, he kept contact with him. He didn't see him as his son, not really. He couldn't help but think that that role wasn't his to fulfil. He saw him as his friend. They were both fucked up in every way possible, having rough childhoods and even rougher adulthoods. But at the end of the day, they could always sit together, next to a cheeseburger, and laugh it all off.

Harley Keener had slowly crawled his way into his life, and Tony Stark couldn't be happier.

___

Subsequently, he though about the first time he met his son. Well, not exactly his biological son, but Tony saw him as his child. His beautiful, smart, bubbly son.

The first time he met his son was right before Germany, when he sought his help in his fight against Captain America. Peter Parker had been through so much loss, so much tragedy, yet he kept smiling brighter than the sun, talking everyone's ears off, and giving a piece of his heart to everyone he met. At the beginning, he had found it annoying. He kept blabbering about anything and everything, jumping on walls and beaming in every situation. Yet, after the fifteen year old boy crashed his plane and took down the Vulture even though Tony had  _taken away his suit for this exact reason goddammit_ , he couldn't help but admire him.

Slowly but surely, he warmed up to him. He started greeting him warmly every time he entered his lab with a '' _heyMrStarkyouwon'tbelievewhathappenedtoday-_ ''. He stayed sober as to not scare him away, he couldn't scare him away. He opened up to him, let Peter mutter soothing, reassuring words to him as he sobbed into his chest after a particularly bad panic attack, exchanging tragic background stories and misadventures. He remembers the day Peter  _finally_ told him about the warehouse incident. His eyes had nearly bulged out of their sockets, before he engulfed the kid in a hug, muttering apologies and trying not to cry ( _''WHAT DO YOU MEAN A WAREHOUSE???????''_ ).Tony started taking care of him, making sure he ate and slept, coming to Career's Day at his school and teaching that nasty kid Eugene 'Flash' Thompson a lesson because no one hurt those he loved.

Because, yes, in the end, Tony Stark loved Peter Parker like a father would love his son. He warmed up to the Avengers quickly, coming over each weekend, taking part in each prank war or pillow fight the team had, arguing with Tony's teammates about what movie the would watch on movie nights. He called them all 'Auntie' and 'Uncle'.

He even ended up calling Tony 'Dad'. He felt insanely protective (so did the whole team) and couldn't help but feel a bit threatened when Harley and Peter had first started dating. But Harley made Peter happy, so they let them be. Tony's heart could burst with happiness every time Peter let out a joyous laugh, the corner of his eyes crinkling.

Peter Parker was Tony Stark's son, and Tony Stark couldn't be happier.

___

His last thoughts went to his daughter.

His little _principessa._ She had only been with him for 5 short years, yet he loved her so, so much. He remembered the day she was born, the day he first saw her, in the hands of his gorgeous wife Virginia  _Stark_. She was his second child, his only child, at the time. He promised to himself to get Peter back so she could have a loving, caring brother. His little princess deserved the world.

And that was  _exactly_ what he would give her. 

Granted, the five years they spent together were some of his happiest years. Sometimes, he thoughts he could ignore the gaping hole in his heart, where the Avengers, Peter and Rhodey used to live. Sometimes, seeing his daughter beaming almost made it all worthwhile.

With his big brown eyes and luscious chocolate hair , and Pepper's freckles and petite hands, he knew that if he left, the world would always have him in the form of Morgan Stark.

In the end, his daughter is what pushed him to do what he did, and Tony Stark couldn't be happier.

___

 As he looked around him, he saw his family. His wife, his son, his friends. They were all looking at him with tears in their eyes and watery smiles. His Peter, his  _son_ was telling him that everything was going to be ok because  _we won, we won dad please_. He thought back to his life and found that he was content with it.

As he looked around him, he thought that maybe this wasn't the worst way to go.

So when Pepper told him to rest, that's exactly what he did.

He was happy, at last.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry.


End file.
